Russell Hayward was thrilled to have dinner with Corrie icon Eileen, who plays Emily Bishop in the show, to mark the special day and the moving moment was shared by a delighted Russell on Twitter.

A rare photo of Eileen away from the cobbles shows the actress smiling for the camera and holding hands with Russell who has his arm around the TV legend.

And Russell says the dinner was the start to a "wonderful friendship."

He tweeted: "A dream came true for me on Saturday. On @martynhett’s birthday, in his memory, I was lucky enough to spend the evening having dinner with Eileen Derbyshire (who played Emily Bishop) and her son, @OllieHolt22. A start to a wonderful friendship. I still can’t quite believe it!"

Martyn, from Stockport, was one of 22 people to lose their lives in the Manchester Arena attack on May 22 last year.

Martyn Hett (Image: Handout)
He had a tattoo of Deirdre Barlow on his leg and he and Russell named their beloved pet cat Emily Bishop in honour of the character, who was famously almost murdered by serial killer Richard Hillman
Emily, who has been in Corrie since 1961, was last seen in Weatherfield in January 2016 before flying out to Peru to visit her nephew Spider.